Strengthening ties with Kamaishi City, Japan

30 Mar Strengthening ties with Kamaishi City, Japan

Six intermediate students from a coastal city of Kamaishi, Japan visited Christchurch for a week, hosted by Selwyn House School and Casebrook Intermediate School. Students from Kamaishi quickly formed friendship with their buddies while visiting the Antarctic Centre, Transitional Cathedral, Margaret Mahy Playground, the City Council and even supporting the Canterbury Crusaders together as part of a cultural exchange programme. Participants were selected from several schools and the group has been practicing English preparing for more than three months leading up to the visit.

The relationship between schools in both cities began in 2013 following a visit to Japan by a delegation from Christchurch Educated in 2012. While the cultural exchange programme started by sharing their experience living through a natural disaster, the young ambassadors from Kamaishi now focus on the future of their city as it prepares for hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

“As we look forward to hosting the fifth study tour in 2017, we are already planning a future collaboration model leveraging from the links we have with rugby“, Christchurch Educated Board member Tim Hayashi says. (March 2016)